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Lesson Planning in SIOP: From Theory to Practice

Abstract

It cannot be disputed that the teaching and learning process is usually a complex procedure that requires effective preparation. Lesson plans give teachers a chance to organize the course content and ensure that it captures the diversified needs of the learners. The SIOP model in particular has proved to be effective in teaching language to a diverse population. This is because of its multifaceted nature that enables it to employ diversified and complementary methods of instruction. Notably, these capture the varied classroom needs and enhance the effectiveness of the teaching process. This is undoubtedly at the center stage of the teaching and learning goals and objectives. The purpose of this study is to evaluate lesson planning in SIOP.

Introduction

Effective instruction at all levels tends to be determined by various factors that range from a clear understanding of the student’s individual needs to the consideration of their intelligence levels. Active participation of all parties is critical as it gives both students and educators a chance to enjoy the teaching and learning process. In order to attain optimal results, instructors ensure that the learning process is organized. This is usually attained through the employment of a lesson plan that underscores all the aspects of the lesson. This paper provides an explicit evaluation of the SIOP lesson plan. In detail, it comprehensively explains the language lesson and highlights how it incorporated different features of SIOP in order to meet its goals and objectives. In addition, it provides a rationale for the learning theories that were employed during the lesson.

SIOP Lesson Plan

The lesson was an introduction to different genres in oral literature with special focus on poetry. The purpose of the entire unit is to enable students to identify different styles employed in poetry. In addition, the lesson seeks to enhance engagement with the material using cognitive, Meta cognitive and affective approaches to learning. The basic aim it to enable students to understand and appreciate the styles as well as identify how they employ the same during their conversations and creative writing. Also, students would be expected to relate the styles to other pieces of literary art and be able to use their critical skills in identifying how they usually use the concepts both knowingly and unknowingly in the home and school environment.

The students will be allocated different poems from renowned poets such as Langston Hughes and will carry out discussions accordingly. In this, they will be expected to not only identify the styles but also compare the styles with those employed by other poets. They will be expected to relate the different concepts to those that have been learnt in previous lessons.

The theme of the lesson is poetry and specifically stylistic devices employed in this. Poetry is an important genre that gives the artists a chance to communicate to the audience through compressed language (Hill & Flynn, 2006). Apart from delivering the content to the audience, artists employ a wide range of styles that spice up their work and enable the audience to deduce meanings accordingly. Thus understanding the different styles is requisite for effective interpretation of the message contained in the poems.

The objectives of the content are to enable students to recount the different poetic styles that were learnt in the previous lessons. With this information, they would be able to connect the use of different styles in the assigned poems. Also, the students would have a chance to compare use of styles by different authors and to identify how they also employ these in their day to day language use. Through discussions, students will be allowed to give their personal reports with respect to how they use the styles for different purposes. Also, they will be expected to make summaries of the poems in order to identify and appreciate the inherent meanings. To accredit this, they will be expected to cite different phrases from the poems that would support their ideas.

By the end of the lesson, they would be expected to write their own poems and employ the different styles. These would then be posted on the black board for peer review and relative analysis. The materials employed in the lesson would be web links and textbooks that would be sources of the poems to be used during the lesson and a video that would provide an introductory explanation to poetic styles. Graphic organizers would also be imperative for enabling the students to make various connections.

SIOP Features

With respect to preparation, this would entail adaptation of the content, incorporation of the learning strategies and identification of links employed in the previous lesson. Then, scaffolding would encompass guided practice, independent practice and comprehensible input (Gibbons, 2002). With respect to group options, learning would take place independently, between partners, amongst small groups and within the entire class (Echevarria, Vogt & Short, 2007). The integration process would be all inclusive entailing reading, listening, writing and speaking. The application process would equally be multifaceted and would incorporate promotion of engagement, hands on and linkage to objects. Finally, the assessment would take place at different levels and in different ways. In this regard, groups, partners and individuals would be evaluated orally and in written. All these features would be reflected in the sequence of the tutoring session.

Lesson Sequence

The instructor would begin by introducing the topic to the entire class. This would be followed by as short presentation of a video in which the speaker provides an introductory explanation of the stylistic devices employed in poetry. This would also be a recap of the previous lesson in which students were informed about the various poetic styles that are found in different genres of literature. The instructor would then group the students in teams of four of five students. In this, the students would be allowed to address the vocabulary that is used in the study. In addition, they would be able to share different experiences in which they have employed the stylistic devices in their day to day language.

In the group context, they will use their textbooks and web links to identify specific poems for review. After identification of the poems, one member would be allowed to read the poem to the rest of the groups who would then identify the surface and underlying meanings. Then, they would collaborate in identifying the stylistic devices that were used by the authors and why the authors employed the same. After this analysis, students would be expected to compare different poems and complete the graphic organizers by identifying connections between the poems and the stylistic devices that were leant in the previous lessons.

At this point, it is certain that they would have sufficient information with regard to the characteristics and attributes of a poem. Using this, they would be expected to write their own poem using the learnt stylistic devices. This would enable them to have a clear understanding with regard to why certain styles are employed in specific contexts. They would then be expected to share their experiences with the entire class and explain the lessons they have derived from their assignments.

Learning Strategies

In using the Meta cognitive approach, the students will use the think-aloud model that would be demonstrated by the instructor. This strategy will be used when the students are making connections between the stylistic devices learnt in the previous lessons and how they are employed in the day to day speech. They would be expected to closely relate the approach to the thinking process and in a bit to cite the poetic styles that are found in the respective poems under review.

The students would then be allowed to reflect on their daily use of the English language and how they can make any type of communication a learning process. Then, cognitive learning would be attained when the students identify the relationships and inherent connections between the identified styles and those that were learnt in previous lessons. Finally, social learning would be attained through use of team capacities to identify the different stylistic devices in poems and write a poem that has the identified features.

Rationale for Use of Different Learning Theories

The classroom that was being handles in this regard had learners with diverse intelligences. It was therefore imperative to employ different types of learning strategies and approaches in order to attain the goals and objectives. The employment of video at the beginning of the lesson was instrumental for motivating the students to participate actively in the process of learning. Essentially, this type of instruction enhances dialogue and triggers active and critical thinking that is fundamental in analysis of poetry.

Further, the use of web links in learning was also critical in preventing boredom that would undermine the process of learning. In this regard, research indicates that employment of a single medium of instruction likely culminates in boredom that compromises effective understanding of the course content (Echvarria et al, 2007). Group work also came in handy to enhance participation and ensure that students whom English is not their first language also have a chance to participate in the process of learning. In most instances, such children lack the confidence to participate actively in discussion sessions that would involve the entire class.

Conclusion

In order to enhance the teaching and learning process, the instructor needs to understand the diverse needs in the classroom. This enables the same to employ a method of instruction that would suit the specific needs and requirements of the learners. A lesson plan is imperative as it enhances organization of different aspects and ensures that all these are included in the lesson for optimal output. The SIOP approach provides an ideal method of teaching language as it puts in consideration the diverse needs of learners. The group and individual contexts enhance participation and evaluation enhances effectiveness of the study. Most importantly, the diverse instruction methods enhance not only enhances learning but also nurtures critical thinking skills that are fundamental for understanding poetry.

References

Echevarria, J.; Vogt, ME., & Short, D.J. (2004). Making content comprehensible for English

learners: the SIOP model, 2nd Ed. New York, NY: Allyn & Bacon.

Gibbons, P. (2002). Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning. UK: Heinemann

Hill, J. & Flynn, K. (2006). Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language. USA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.